Road Races
- 24 January: Polar Bear 5k
This was held in Marietta, GA and my number was 457. There seem to
be too many runners (1596) for the single lanes into which the
runners are funneled. It is a fast flat course, but since there is
no ordering of runners by their expected finish times, one is
constantly hampered by trying to get around slower runners. I
should have had a PR, but the single lane doesn't allow for easy
passing. I also ran the 2k fun run as a warmup. Weather was nice,
52F (warmest ever for this race) and the rain held off. I came in
424 of 1596 overall, 11/40 for age group (60 - 64). My pace was
8:17 for the 5k. This race uses a wire device behind the number for
timing, which has to be returned right after crossing the finish
line.
- 14 February: Run the Reagan 1/2 M
This was held in Snelville, GA and my number was 100. This is a
good run that combines a 5k, 10k and half marathon, all of which
are run on the Reagan Expressway. This was going to be a "smell the
daisies" relaxed kind of run. I started off running with Nadine,
but she went out a bit too fast for me. I caught her later and
started think about a PR. All was well until I hit the hill at 10
miles that pretty much destroyed humanity. So, no PR. This is well
organized and I think will be a must from here on out. I came in 5
of 7 in age group M6064, 222 of 283 among men, and 367 of 472
overall. They list my time as 2:06:39 which is 9:40 per mile.
- 21 February: Charles Harris 10k
This was a point to point, held in Tucker, GA and my number was
764. This is a fast course with a hill between 3 and 4 miles and
one at the end, but the rest of the run is mostly downhill and is
net downhill overall. Nice gym to stay in before the race. Temps
were in the lower 20's. I got a PR both this year and last year. I
need to start nearer the front. Congestion cost me a lot of time at
the start, and the start was a nice downhill of which I couldn't
take advantage because of that congestion. I came in 13 of 44 in
age group (60 - 69), 351 of 665 among males, and 450 of 1127
overall.
- 7 March: Snickers Marathon
This was a one loop course, held in Albany, GA and my number was
139. Took just a bit over three hours to get there and I stayed at
the Comfort Inn which was clean and comfortable. This course is
hiller than one is led to believe. It has a zillion turns and much
of the second half is in subdivisions or housing areas, none of
which seem to be on flat terrain. Luckily the first 18 or so miles
were run in a cloud, otherwise it may well have gotten too hot.
Temps went from 49 at the start to 66 while I was on the course,
and went up to 77.6 on the day. I did get a PR, but nothing to
write home about. I wanted to beat 4:30:00, and did according to my
watch which says I ran 26.33 miles, but only 26.2 count. I came in
14 of 21 in age group, 260 of ??? among males, and 370 of 593
overall. My chip time was 4:30:35 which is a pace of 10:20.
- 14 March: Silver Comet 10k
This was held in Mableton, GA, is a point to point race, and is a
fast 10k course. The race begins with about 1.75 miles on surface
streets before turning onto the Silver Comet. That 1.75 miles does
have a minor hill at the start, but the rest of the course on the
Silver Comet itself has about a .66% down slope. 42F and rainy. I
ran with a friend until I got warmed up at about 0.75 miles and
then sped up. I was number 279, and came in 2 of 16 in age group
(60 - 64, second place, but I didn't hang around for any award),
380 of 593 among men, and 504 of 1027 overall.
- 29 March: ING Half Marathon
This was held in Atlanta, GA, as a point to point race. It is a
fair course, no massive hills but a mix of ups and downs. I think
the course for the half is much flatter than the course for the
full. Namely, the worst hills occur in the second half of the full.
Only pace groups for the full were available so I started out using
the 4:00 group. I pretty much stayed a bit ahead of that group
until the full and half split. A lot of energy was lost trying to
get around other runners. It seemed congested. Seems I always have
to wear a throwaway top here. I'm cold every year for this run. Got
up at 0400 and left the house for the Doraville Marta station at
0445. I was number 32407, came in 2810 of 9539 overall, 1850 of
4138 among men, and placed 24th of 123 in my age division (60 -
69).
- 5 May: Fargo Marathon
This was held in Fargo, ND, as a 2 loop course. It does not
normally have 2 loops, but this was necessated by their recent
devasting flooding. It is a totally flat course. The race was very
well managed and the people in the area have to be the nicest I've
ever met. There is a problem with some of the roads when they are
wet. They become so slick that they are very difficult to run on. I
even fishtailed the rental car when driving back to the airport. It
was colder than I had hoped but with very little wind on the
course, even though I had experienced wind while waiting for the
start. It was around 35F at the start and 41 at the finish. A
rather gentle rain started about 30 minutes before I finished. I
got a PR, but I didn't do nearly as well as I had hoped. I was
number 356, came in 850 of 1269 overall, 576 of 779 among males,
and 9 of 17 in age group (60 - 64).
- 25 May: Celebrate America 10k
This was held in Alpharetta, GA. I was # 106, came in 181 out of
392 overall and 8 out of 17 in my age group (60 <= age <=
64). All times for both men and women were grouped together. I
don't know that I was really in the mood to run today. I had an
attack of donuts and cookies yesterday. Sigh.... To place in this
one, I would have to come in under 48 minutes. It is a reasonably
fast course and well organized. I look forward to doing this one
each year.
- 6 June: Historic Buford 5k (Run the Rails
5k)
This was held in Buford, GA, and was a well organized event. I had
number 337. No online registration for this. I actually mailed it
in. It has some hills that always take more out of me than I
expect. I actually managed to get third place for my age bracket,
(60 - 64). It is close and a nice run. I ran this last year and
plan to run it again next year. Results were posted on
coolrunning.com. I came in 98 of 380 overall, 73 of 188 among men,
and 3 out of 5 in age group. I would have needed to beat 24:40
(7:57) for first (guy is 63), 25:13 (8:07) for second (guy is 61),
and the guy in forth came in at 26:34 in 8:33 and is 63. My
official time was 26:16 for 8:28. This fourth guy was only 4 people
behind me at the finish (18 seconds).
- 20 June: Magnolia Run 4m
This was held in Atlanta, GA, starting and finishing at the
Perimeter Mall, and my number was 586. I meet Lisa there each year
who is on the board of the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia, the
sponsor of the event. This run has more hill in it than I remember
every year. I came in 105 of 256 in the men's division and 4 of 16
in my age group (60 - 64). Overall I was 146 of 568. To have taken
third place in age group I would have needed to beat 32:29 which is
an 8:08 pace.
- 4 July: Peachtree Road Race 10k
The largest 10k in the world with 55,000 entrants. My number was
16075, and was in time group 1B. I got up at 0400 and to the
Doraville station by 0510 and had good parking right by the
entrance. The weather was good with a bright sun. I didn't have
quite as much oomph as I had expected. Some stomach troubles didn't
help. I didn't make the 55:00 that was my target, but did beat my
last year's time. My time was 55:53 and I came in 8025 of 50009
overall, 5912/26171 among males, and 2813 of 14111 among Masters
which is 61.3% age graded.
- 18 July: Breakaway 5k
Held in Loganville, GA, this run started with a half mile downhill,
which of course means that it ended up with a half mile uphill run.
I've run this twice before. The last bit after one makes the last
turn is never as long or as steep as I expect. This year there was
a detour due to some construction which put a steep evil hill into
the mix. That pretty much destroyed my time. I was number 137. I
came in 4 of 13 for my age group and 33 of 115 overall. The times
in age group ahead of me were 21:52, 23:51 and 24:25. I was 25:59
and the first in age group behind me was 27:17.
- 15 August: Bulldog Dash 5k
Held in Suwanee, GA at the North Gwinnett High School, who are
known as the Bulldogs. It is basically a flat course, with a couple
of gentle hills, but they still aren't gentle enough for me. They
still take my legs away. There was a good turnout, with over 600
runners. It finished with a lap at their high school track. I was
number 86 and finished "out of the money" this year. This year's
pace was 6 seconds per mile faster than last year's. I came in 250
of 535 overall. Results were not broken down further. I missed
third place by 23 seconds.
- 7 September: U.S. 10k Classic
Held in Atlanta, GA starting by the Cumberland Mall this 10k is
renouned for its hills. Need to get there about 0600 for a 0745
start. This race didn't turn out so well. It seems I drank way too
much strong coffee yesterday and not enough benign liquids. So, at
around the four mile mark my heart rate went nuts -- tachycardia,
where the heart rate kind of takes off on its own without pumping
much blood. It is the third time this has happened to me and each
time it has been caffeine related. So as a result, my time was not
as good as last years, even though I was ahead of last years pace
by around 40 seconds per mile prior thereto. My number was 3641 and
my time was 1:00:53 which was a 9:48 pace. I came in 1558 of 2938
timed runners and 36 of 94 in AG.
- 26 September: Big Peach Sizzler
10k
This course, starts at the Chamblee Marta station in Chamblee, GA,
a suburb of Atlanta, and goes down Peachtree Industrial Blvd. into
Buckhead. I swear that each year it has more hills than the
preceding year. They may be gentle hills, but they still take my
legs away. 17 degrees F warmer this year than last year (74F with
94% humidity). At least it was overcast. I beat last years time by
about 7 seconds per mile, but still didn't do as well as I would
have liked. At least this will put me into group 1B for the
Peachtree Road Race. I was number 1085 with an official time of
52:54 and came in 4th in Male Age Group 60 - 64, 246 of 564 among
males and 318 of 1058 overall. My Garmin measured this course as
6.3 miles and I was carefully taking tangents. Hmmmm.
- 3 October: Stonemill Race for Autism
5k
Held in Suwanee, GA at the Stonemill church. Nice course with a
couple of gentle hills, but one of them is right at the start -- so
fresh legs. It is well organized and is a good run to post a good
time. They actually had cheer leaders to cheer the runners home.
This is the second year in a row that I had a PR here. My number
was 414. I actually came in first in the 60 - 64 age group (there
were only 2 of us) which is reflected in a nice medal. Only first
place finishers in age groups got medals. Second and third place
finishers got certificates. There were twice as many in the race
this year as last year. I finally broke an 8:00 minute pace for the
first time! I came in 23 of 284 overall, 1 of 2 in age group, and
20 of 96 among males.
- 11 October: Chicago Marathon
This starts off from Grant Park in Chicago and is both well
organized and supported by the community. I stayed at the Congress
Plaza, right by Grant Park. The crowd support during the run is
absolutely incredible. It was really cold and uncomfortable at the
start. I wanted to go out with the 4:15 pace group, but the pace
groups got to the corrals after the corrals were already packed and
it was rather disorganized. I did a massive face plant a little
past mile 14 -- bloodied up both knees and elbows. My handheld
saved my face from smashing the pavement. After the fall I just
couldn't get my pace back. I ended up 20517 of 33608 overall, 13305
of 19041 among men, and 167 of ??? in age bracket. My time was
listed as 4:37:50 and my number was 12136.
- 17 October: Peachtree City Classic
15k
Held in Peachtree City, GA the course is claimed to be flat, which
it isn't. It is also awkward to get to since they put up race
barracades well before the race which makes it difficult to find
the start. One has to use the directions from the web site since a
gps device will run one into barracaded streets. I doubt that I
will do this one again. It is run mostly on cart paths which have
an uneven surface and are rather narrow and winding. It goes
through some underpasses that are so dark that one can't see the
ground under one's feet and has to just hope there is nothing
there. I did stumble once but didn't go down. One of them was so
dark that I couldn't tell if someone was in front of me or not, and
had to run with my arms outstretched to make sure I didn't run into
anyone. I was number 249 and came in at 1:22:55 wich is an 8:57
pace. I was 347/630 overall, 265/366 among men and 13/20 in age
group.
- 31 October: Silver Comet Half
Marathon
This is a great half marathon starting in Mableton, GA. It starts
on Floyd Road and is run on surface streets for the first mile and
a half and then moves onto the Silver Comet Trail. It is very well
organized and had a cutoff this year of 2000 participants. We ran
in a strong rain for more than half of the race and ran on a
blanket of wet leaves (and puddles). Busses were available to take
runners back to the parking area from the finish line. My time was
a PR (1:57:23), but I would have done better if I had started out
slower. I was trying to maintain a pace of 8:30, but came in at
8:58. I was number 869, came in 500 of 1597 overall, and 2 of 15 in
age group (60 <= age <= 64). I hadn't realized that I had
placed, so didn't stick around for the award.
- 7 November: Lake Spivey 15k
This is a very hilly 15k run around Lake Spivey, south of the
Perimeter in Jonesboro, GA. It is easily the most beautiful venue
for a road race I've ever seen. It is run on nice wide roads
through the scenic subdivisions of the wealthy few. I just ran this
as a fun run since I was scheduled to do 20 miles on the Silver
Comet the next day as my last long run before the Philadelphia
taper. Had I tried to race this one, I think I would have left body
parts on the hills. There were nice chicken sandwiches afterwards.
I came in 93 of 151 overall, 3 of 4 in age group (60 - 64) and 68
of 83 among man. Again, I miss out on whatever trinket was offered
for third place.
|